Northrop Grumman plans a major capital investment at the company’s campus in Melbourne, Florida. State officials said the expansion, which could reach an estimated $500 million, has the potential to create up to 1,800 jobs in Brevard County over the next few years.

The expansion will occur in multiple phases, according to Enterprise Florida. The first phase will begin with the construction of a new 220,000 square foot office building and the addition of 300 jobs. Potential follow-on phases include construction of additional facilities totaling 500,000 square feet and 1,500 additional jobs.

“We’re extremely appreciative of the support we’ve received from the state of Florida and the local community in our continuing effort to drive our affordability and competitive position,” said Tom Vice, Northrop Grumman Corporate Vice President/President, Aerospace Systems. “This expansion further cements our strong partnership with Florida, and will greatly benefit our employees, customers, and shareholders.”

Governor Rick Scott said, “This is a huge victory for families on the Space Coast. We are excited that Northrop Grumman has decided to expand here in Florida, which could bring up to 1,800 new jobs to Brevard County. We’ve worked to grow jobs and opportunities for Florida families by cutting taxes, paying down debt and cutting government waste – and this announcement is a testament to our success in creating an opportunity economy. This is a huge win, and we’ll continue to build on this success with our recently completed legislative session where we cut $500 million in taxes and fees and made higher education more affordable for every family. These victories will attract more-and-more businesses to the Sunshine State. We must continue to grow our opportunity economy so that companies like Northrop Grumman can continue to create jobs for Florida families.”

“This highly competitive project was more than two years in the making, and we are excited to once again partner with Northrop Grumman to bring jobs to Florida,” said Secretary of Commerce and President/CEO of Enterprise Florida, Gray Swoope. “It speaks volumes to Florida’s standing as a business state when a global leader like Northrop Grumman is willing to make such a large capital investment in our state. I thank them for their continued partnership, and thank Governor Scott, the Legislature, our state and local partners, and the site consultant professionals at McCallum Sweeney for their work in helping to secure this game-changing project for Florida.”

The project would not have been possible without a strong partnership at the state and local levels. Partners that helped make the project a success included Enterprise Florida, Brevard County, City of Melbourne, Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, Florida Power & Light, Space Florida, CareerSource Florida, Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

As part of the project, CareerSource Florida has offered Northrop Grumman performance-based partial reimbursement grants for employee training through the Quick Response Training program. QRT grants are structured to be flexible and responsive to the training needs of new or expanding businesses.

“This major project will provide high-wage employment and career-growth opportunities for hundreds of Floridians over the next five years, creating a significant economic impact on Melbourne and the entire state,” said Chris Hart IV, President/CEO, CareerSource Florida. “The shared investment in training supports both the creation and retention of jobs in our state and will help assure Northrop Grumman’s global competitiveness now and into the future.”